Observations on professional development and library experience of a special collections librarian.

Month: May 2015

Upon reflection, my semester long internship has drawn to a close. I have read about and practiced rare book cataloging, which has just made me eager to learn more. I look forward to bringing my knowledge to whatever position I work in. Cataloging is a profession that is thought of as uninteresting, menial, and difficult, but in fact it is fascinating because you get to be an explorer of all subject areas. One of my favorite parts of my internship was handling the material since the physical nature conveys so much about the item and its history and the culture it was created in. I would be very happy if I was able to work as a cataloger. I think it is very important and essential role in the library, especially the special collection library.

Cataloging unites many different fields of study. In order to become a ‘good’ cataloger, you have to have passion and curiosity. Even after months of cataloging, I know that I need to catalog consistently for a couple years to gain a comprehensive understanding of cataloging: how to do it properly and its affects. It is complex work that will be clarified and expanded with each book you catalog. In addition, the process of cataloging rare materials affords the cataloger an opportunity to see connections that might be missed or not as obvious in other positions.

At long last, I am faced with the momentous event of my graduation which I am concurrently excited and terrified about. I will miss interning with the helpful, engaging, and congenial staff and working with captivating materials at the Lilly Library. It has made aware of the importance of rare book and manuscript libraries. I hope to work with them again someday.